The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and should not be construed as constituting prior art.
Many portions of the human anatomy naturally articulate relative to one another. Generally, the articulation of these anatomic regions is smooth and non-abrasive in nature, particularly in the presence of natural tissues, such as cartilage and strong bone.
Over time, however, due to injury, stress, degenerative health problems and various other issues, the ease by which these anatomic regions are able to articulate degenerates in quality, thereby leaving the articulation of these anatomic regions abrasive and impractical. For example, injury may cause the cartilage or the bony structure to become weak, damaged, or even non-existent. As a result, the natural articulation of these anatomical regions is no longer possible for these affected individuals. At such times, it may be desirable to replace the affected anatomical regions with a prosthetic component so that normal articulation may be restored.
A humerus generally articulates within a glenoid surface or cavity in a shoulder. When implantation of a shoulder joint prosthesis becomes necessary, the natural head portion of the humerus can be resected and a cavity created in the intramedullary canal of the host humerus for accepting a humeral component. Moreover, the glenoid cavity positioned at the lateral edge of the scapula may also be resurfaced and shaped to accept the glenoid component. The humeral component includes a head portion used to replace the natural head of the humerus, while the glenoid component generally includes an articulating surface, which is engaged by the head portion of the humeral component.
Since glenoid components are subject to various types of loading by the head portion of the humeral component, the glenoid component must offer a stable and secure articulating surface. To achieve this, some glenoid components provide peripheral pegs which are inserted and cemented into holes bored into the glenoid cavity. Some of the pegged glenoid components utilize up to five peripheral pegs in order to stabilize and secure the glenoid component to the scapula.
While the peripheral pegs provide a means for securing the glenoid component to the glenoid cavity, it may also be desirable to ensure that at least a portion of the component is composed of a porous biocompatible material that is known to promote and facilitate the in-growth of surrounding bony and soft tissues. On the other hand, it may also be desirable to compose at least another portion of the component with a nonporous material. Because of technological limitations, however, manufacturing techniques have struggled to develop complex metal geometries having intermixed regions of porous and nonporous metals. The present application is intended to improve upon and resolve some of these known deficiencies of the art.